Police officers and nearby residents rescued the people trapped in a car after it fell into a river in eastern China.

The video was filmed in the city of Nantong in Jiangsu Province on September 20.

A driver in his 70s ploughed his vehicle straight into a barrier and into the moat due to a devastating control mishap. This mishap occurred as the elderly driver was emerging from an underground parking garage, ostensibly confusing the accelerator for the brake, propelling the vehicle at a high speed into unforeseen peril.

Chen, an eyewitness, recounted the driver seemed to exit the garage with considerable speed. The post-collision spectacle displayed the white car partially submerged, its front part inundated. This prompted Cao Jinbiao, a Samaritan passerby post his child’s school drop-off, to plunge into the waters initiating a resounding rescue operation with the help of bystanders.

Cao said he saw the vehicle drifting in the river with a man’s legs protruding from the window, struggling fiercely. As the vehicle kept submerging slowly, the onlookers were sinking into despair. A rope was deployed to assist the trapped driver, held taut by the collective strength of the crowd.

Despite the relentless efforts from the riverside to decelerate the sinking speed, the vehicle, encouraged by the torrential rain and raging river, kept floating towards the bridge hole, threatening to capsize and rendering further rescue attempts nearly impossible.

With the crisis escalating, Cao, without a shred of hesitation, left his phone on the riverbank and dived into the river. Swiftly swimming to the submerging vehicle, Cao, with one hand holding the steering wheel and the other holding the rope, along with the citizens, strategically manoeuvred the car towards the bank.

Eventually, the cumulative efforts brought the vehicle to the bank where the window was rolled down to facilitate the successful rescue of the entrapped driver.

The submerged vehicle has been salvaged and is onshore currently. The meticulous investigations into the specifics of the accident are being conducted by the traffic police department.

The video was provided by local media with permission.

9月20日，江苏南通如皋市，一司机驾车出地库时，因操作失误，直接撞向前方护栏后飞入护城河中。目击者陈先生称，轿车司机年龄大约在70岁左右，当时他从地库出来的时候车速比较快，疑似把刹车当成油门踩了下去，导致事故发生。
掉入河中后，白色轿车车头淹没在水中，一位叫做曹金标的热心市民跳入水中与岸上群众合力展开救援。经过大家的努力，困在车内的驾驶员被成功救出，幸无大碍。
据曹金标介绍，当时他送孩子上学后刚好路过，看到一辆车正在河里飘荡着，一名男子从车窗口伸出两只脚，不断挣扎着。眼看着车子一点点下沉，大家都焦急万分。有人放了根绳子下去，让被困者抓住，大家一起拉。尽管岸边的群众合力向上拉，汽车下沉速度放缓，可暴雨导致河水湍急，车辆一直往桥洞里面漂，车身一旦翻滚，再想救人就几乎不太可能了。危急时刻，他便掏出手机放在岸边，毫不犹豫地跳入了河中。
曹金标快速游到落水车辆前方，一只手拉着方向盘，一只手拉着上面的绳子，选择和岸上的市民一起把汽车往岸边挪。最终在众人的齐心协力下，汽车被缓缓挪到岸边，车窗摇下后，被困者顺利脱险。
目前，落水的车辆已打捞上岸，事故具体原因交警部门正在调查当中。